Nearly a dozen hotels out of 64 in the Comic-Con room block were identified as having excessive rates, Johnson said. Some of those hotels already have agreed to renegotiate lower rates, he added.

“We recognize that folks up in Anaheim and Los Angeles are more affordable and are coming in and quoting very low rates, so we want to make sure we’re competitive and our bid is attractive and that we accentuate all the positives,” said Jim Durbin, general manager of the San Diego Marriott in the Gaslamp Quarter, noting that his convention rates are less than $300 a night. “We’ve got a buyer out there who’s being wooed by other competitors, so they’re going to take advantage of that circumstance by pushing the best deal they can get wherever they can get it. We’re treating this like a Super Bowl, and hopefully, no one price-gouges.”

Anaheim, with a convention center that has roughly a half-million more square feet than San Diego’s and nearby hotel rooms that are on average $35 a night cheaper than in the downtown core, is viewed as the city’s principal competitor. Hoteliers acknowledge that they will never be able to beat Anaheim’s room rates but say they can reduce their prices to mollify Comic-Con officials.

Comic-Con spokesman David Glanzer noted that while hotel pricing is a key issue, the decision on where the convention settles will ultimately come down to how San Diego addresses all the issues the convention organizers have raised in recent years. Although the organization had hoped to reach a decision by the end of this month, it may take longer, he said.

“What’s happened in the last couple of years was people were complaining about the convention rate, which they said was so high,” said Glanzer, who confirmed that Comic-Con has received formal proposals from Anaheim and Los Angeles. “I don’t know that (the rate issue) is a comparison between cities, but rather the difference between San Diego’s rates during Comic-Con weeks and non-Comic-Con weeks.

“One of the concerns we have is we’ve had to cap attendance for attendees and those exhibiting, and that means our income will be flat in a couple of years as costs increase, so we need to accept the proposal that best ensures we remain solvent.”

Local hotel operators have heard the message clearly and are ready to consider altering their pricing, said Namara Mercer, executive director of the San Diego County Hotel-Motel Association.

“Not all the hotels were aware they weren’t in line with what was expected for the bid package, so they’re renegotiating their rates to make sure they’re falling within those guidelines,” Mercer said. “They want to make it right now, so I think you’ll see tremendous progress.”

While Anaheim is confident that it has the resources Comic-Con needs to stage a successful convention, as well as proximity to Hollywood, it’s also pragmatic about its chances of stealing the show away from San Diego.

“We would love to have it, but we’re realists. To unseat something that’s been there for 40 years is difficult,” said Charles Ahlers, president of the Anaheim/Orange County Visitor & Convention Bureau. “They have real grass-roots ties to San Diego, which is a competitive advantage, but if size matters, think of Anaheim.”